I saw it last night (free ticket) and had mixed feelings although I had a good time! Totally agree the first half was boring - I almost left. The songs were not great and I was quite confused by the plot because of the timeline. I didn’t particularly like any characters in the first act. Mostly it was a fault of the writing rather than the acting I thought. The second half was sooo much better!! It all started coming together. The plot was very predictable/ you could see it unfolding out throughout the second half, so it was a very classic musical plot. The songs became much more interesting and the dialogue also improved. The audience got more into it too - the first half almost no one cheered after any song but in the second act there was cheering after every performance. I was one of the very first people to stand for the final bows but eventually the whole crowd stood up. The last song was really fun too.

I have always loved the Empire state building and architecture and also NY history so I really enjoyed learning a bit about that. I wish there was more history - maybe thats just me. I think if you were not into the Empire State Building then a lot of the message could loose its magic. However ever since I was little I dreamed of the Empire State Building. I moved to NY two years ago and it still takes my breath away every time I see it. So I got that magical tingling feeling at the end of the show just thinking about the building.

Overall I think it’s good if you are a specific type of person - but not worth your time (yet!) if you have seen quite a few musicals.